{"id":17712,"date":"2012-02-20T02:41:36","date_gmt":"2012-02-20T07:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=17712"},"modified":"2012-02-20T03:50:10","modified_gmt":"2012-02-20T08:50:10","slug":"a-deaf-actor-finds-a-rich-role-off-broadway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/02\/20\/a-deaf-actor-finds-a-rich-role-off-broadway\/","title":{"rendered":"A Deaf Actor Finds a Rich Role Off-Broadway"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Deaf Actor Finds a Rich Role Off-Broadway<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Ellen Gamerman<\/p>\n

February 18, 2012<\/p>\n

The role of Billy in the new off-Broadway play \u201cTribes\u201d presents a rich
\nvein for an actor: a deaf adult child confronts hearing parents who
\nhave shunned sign language and most of deaf culture, insisting instead
\nthat their son rely on lip-reading and at times fragmented speech.<\/p>\n

Russell Harvard plays the part in the bitterly comic British family
\ndrama by playwright Nina Raine starting previews this week at the
\nBarrow Street Theatre in New York.<\/p>\n

Harvard, a 30-year-old Texas native who is deaf, grew up with sign
\nlanguage and uses it in the play. Harvard also speaks in the
\nrole\u2014though he has learned a British accent for the part.<\/p>\n

The actor, who played Daniel Day-Lewis\u2019s grown son in the 2007 film
\n\u201cThere Will Be Blood,\u201d mostly has portrayed deaf characters on screen.
\nIn the 2010 independent movie \u201cThe Hammer,\u201d he played the lead role of
\na deaf wrestler. \u201cTribes,\u201d which received a 2011 Olivier Award
\nnomination for best play in London, is his third professional stage
\nrole.<\/p>\n

During rehearsals, the sandy-haired actor communicated with director
\nDavid Cromer and the cast\u2014which includes Mare Winningham as his mother
\nand Jeff Perry as his father\u2014with a mix of methods. A sign-language
\ntranslator was always on hand, or he would lip-read and talk, repeating
\nwords when he needed to, or use text messages. Harvard, who wears a
\nhearing aid, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal at the
\ntheater, signing through an interpreter.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest challenge in playing this role?<\/p>\n

Harvard: My friends told me that I seem to have a Texas accent, so I
\nreally have to try and practice this British accent. They have a
\ndialect coach that works with the cast and works with me. Speaking is
\nnot my first language, right? So I hope it goes well. I think it will.<\/p>\n

Does it get confusing to speak with a British accent while signing with
\nAmerican Sign Language?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like if you were trying to speak English and Spanish at the very
\nsame time. There are not so many times that I actually have to speak
\nand sign at the very same time in this show, and that\u2019s good. There are
\na few places where I have to do it. To me, that\u2019s a big challenge.<\/p>\n

Are you good at lip-reading, like your character?<\/p>\n

Growing up I\u2019ve been lip-reading, yes. I\u2019ve done it all my life. I
\nthink I\u2019m a master at it.<\/p>\n

In the play, a family is reluctant to embrace deaf culture. Did that
\nresonate with you personally?<\/p>\n

My mother was born deaf and did not learn sign until she was six. She
\nwas sent to a deaf school. Her family was hearing. So when she got to
\nthe school, she picked up signing very fast. My mother has told me her
\nstories and I\u2019ve been able to bring that experience into the show.<\/p>\n

The playwright is not deaf. Will her work seem authentic to deaf
\ntheatergoers?<\/p>\n

Absolutely. She did her homework.<\/p>\n

Does David Cromer, the director, ever tell you that you\u2019re not saying a
\nline clearly enough?<\/p>\n

Oh yes, he does. He\u2019s very straight. We\u2019re very honest with each other.
\nWe change whatever needs to be changed. I absorb it. My first job, I
\nhad a hard time doing that. Back at my very first theater experience,
\nit was hard to adapt and change. That\u2019s a long time ago and I\u2019ve
\nlearned now. I always say to myself, \u201cBe an amoeba\u2014don\u2019t be concrete.\u201d
\nAs an actor, you want to be flexible. You want to accept the director\u2019s
\nfeedback. It\u2019s not criticism.<\/p>\n

In the play, a character asks, \u201cWhich is better, sign or speech?\u201d How
\nwould you answer that question?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m comfortable, of course, with signing. It\u2019s my native language. But
\nI also want to speak fluently, so actually my experience in the play
\nhas been very helpful for me. In the end, maybe I will become more
\nfluent in my speech, and then maybe that will give me, I don\u2019t know,
\nmore opportunities in the film and television industry. But definitely,
\nI won\u2019t be singing.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/speakeasy\/2012\/02\/18\/a-deaf-actor-finds-a-rich-role-off-broadway\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Deaf Actor Finds a Rich Role Off-Broadway By Ellen Gamerman February 18, 2012 The role of Billy in the new off-Broadway play \u201cTribes\u201d presents a rich vein for an actor: a deaf adult child confronts hearing parents who have…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[12614,12615,12612,12617,62,12619,9142,12618,1409,12616,940,63,12620,11311,1584,12613],"class_list":["post-17712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-barrow-street-theatre","tag-daniel-day-lewis","tag-david-cromer","tag-ellen-gamerman","tag-english","tag-jeff-perry","tag-lip-reading","tag-mare-winningham","tag-new-york","tag-olivier-award","tag-russell-harvard","tag-spanish","tag-texas-accent","tag-the-hammer","tag-there-will-be-blood","tag-tribes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4BG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18026,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/03\/15\/tribes-star-russell-harvard-on-his-deaf-heritage-and-joining-a-new-off-broadway-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":17712,"position":0},"title":"Tribes Star Russell Harvard on His Deaf Heritage and Joining a New Off-Broadway Family","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Tribes Star Russell Harvard on His Deaf Heritage and Joining a New Off-Broadway Family By Russell Harvard March 13, 2012 I first read Nina Raine\u2019s Tribes several months ago and was drawn to the character of Billy for many reasons. We are vastly different people, but we have a common\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22523,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/04\/08\/tribes-star-russell-harvard-talks-deaf-community-culture\/","url_meta":{"origin":17712,"position":1},"title":"‘Tribes’ star Russell Harvard talks deaf community culture","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"'Tribes' star Russell Harvard talks deaf community culture The Sunday Conversation By Irene Lacher April 7, 2013 The star of 'Tribes' at the Mark Taper Forum talks about how deaf and hard-of-hearing children are raised, the importance of American Sign Language, lip-reading and new technology such as cochlear implants, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9647,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/03\/10\/pursuing-life-with-passion\/","url_meta":{"origin":17712,"position":2},"title":"Pursuing Life with Passion","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Natural Communicator Pursuing life with passion Jackie Pinto American actor Russell Harvard, who starred in the movie \u2018Words\u2019 made by Anup Bhandari, spoke to Metrolife about his love for acting and theatre I come from three generations of deaf people,\u201d says Russell Harvard, the charming American actor, who was in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27621,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/06\/04\/in-fargo-a-deaf-actor-gets-his-chance-to-be-wicked\/","url_meta":{"origin":17712,"position":3},"title":"In ‘Fargo,’ A Deaf Actor Gets His Chance To Be Wicked","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 'Fargo,' A Deaf Actor Gets His Chance To Be Wicked June 2, 2014 Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg) signs to Mr. Wrench, played by Russell Harvard, in the sixth episode of the TV show Fargo. The second episode of Fargo, a TV show inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45080,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2024\/05\/10\/press-release-film-stage-actors-homecoming-performance-in-tiny-beautiful-things-with-austin-theatre\/","url_meta":{"origin":17712,"position":4},"title":"Press Release: Film & Stage Actor’s Homecoming Performance in Tiny Beautiful Things with Austin Theatre","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Press Contact: Dr. Brian A. Cheslik, Artistic Director of Deaf Austin Theatre artisticdirector@deafaustintheatre.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. FILM & STAGE ACTOR\u2019S HOMECOMING PERFORMANCE IN TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS WITH DEAF AUSTIN THEATRE! 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